Inmates
by IrishAnnie71
Summary: Completely Rewritten July 2019. Part four of The Fair Maiden Series. Cade and Liz go undercover in a women's prison to find a Believer


Author Notes:-

It's been on my mind for years to rewrite all my old First Wave fic so I have eventually gotten around to it.

Summary;- Part four in The Fair Maiden Series in which journalist Elizabeth Baker helps Cade and Eddie to expose the alien conspiracy.

Timeline;- Season 2 before the episode Lost Souls

Disclaimer:- First Wave Title and Characters are the property of First Wave Productions and Pearson Television. The Characters of Cade Foster, Crazy Eddie, The Gua, The Aftertime are the property of Chris Brancato, Larry Sugar and Francis Ford Coppola. The Character Liz Baker and other characters as well as the plot belong to me and will not be used without my permission. (June 2000 - rewritten July 2019)

_Quatrain 22, Century 5_

_Death falls to the four who believe in the walled fortress where the enemy lies hidden. An unused chamber holds the key, to gaining an insight of the truth_

_This quatrain had us puzzled for a while until we started to get emails from a woman named Kelly Walton who says that strange things were happening in the prison where she was incarcerated. Trouble was she never said where the prison was. That is until the papers reported on the death of a woman named Kelly Wilton. This took place in Glenview Women's Prison in Oklahoma. We figured that this was the same woman. The problem was getting into a women's prison when you are wanted for murder. I needed an iron clad cover. Also Eddie had a contact whose cousin worked in the Department of Corrections in Oklahoma who would help us out, as he was a believer. All we had to do was persuade Liz to give us a hand in this case!_

"Forget it! " Liz exclaimed as the door slammed open and she jumped down off the step of the trailer.

"C'mon Liz. You owe us one!" Cade replied following her out who was then followed by Eddie.

She turned around to look at both men. "Is this why you two asked me to come down here?"

"Yes!" "No!" They replied as they looked at each other. "No!" "Yes!" they said again.

"And to think I cancelled a date for this!" Liz said with a sigh.

"You had a date?" asked Cade wrinkling his forehead.

She glanced at him and gave him a smile. "Yeah!" .

"So does this date have a name?" asked Cade.

"Nick. He 's very nice. Not at all like the last guy I was with. I think he was a bit nuts!" Liz said in a conspiratorial whisper. Cade showed no reaction.

"Well what do you know about this Nick? He could be an alien for all you know!" Eddie said folding his arms.

"He's not an alien!" she scoffed.

"How do you know? Sure we don't know half the time," replied Cade.

"Ninety percent of the time," Eddie interrupted.

"Eddie I think you should do a BGC on this guy!"

"A Background Check, Sure thing Foster!" Eddie replied.

A small laugh escaped from her mouth as she shook her head in amusement. "Do you know what? I think you two spend _way_ too much time together!" Liz replied as she walked towards her car smiling to herself.

Cade broke into a little run to catch up with her. "Liz it will be a good story!"

"I'll get the story, Don't worry about that! " she smiled.

"Liz if you don't do it for us, at least do it for humanity. For the sake of the human race!" exclaimed Cade giving her a puppy dog look.

She let out a sigh as she was silent for a moment. She glanced back at Eddie and then at Cade. "I'll do it if you both buy me dinner when the investigation is over!"

"We would if we knew where we were going to be then," replied Cade.

"Or if we have any money..." continued Eddie.

"I know I'm going to regret this. What do I have to do?" Liz sighed running her hand through her blonde hair.

"I knew you would help us Eliza Jane!" Eddie said putting his arm around her.

\\\\\/

The sun beat down from a cloudless sky as the Department of Corrections van stopped at the big iron gates of the prison. The heat inside the van was stifling as Liz and two other women prisoners waited to be taken off. Sweat trickled down her neck as she heard the prison guard let the van through the gate. "When are you gonna let us out of this sweat box?" one of the women complained.

"When we say so," replied one of the guards from the front of the van.

"This is inhumane," the other woman said.

Liz glanced at the two but said nothing.

Jack, Eddie's contact, climbed out of the van and opened the door to the back of the van.

"Out," he ordered as the three women got out.

"Thanks for the ride," Liz said to Jack. "Creep."

"They'll be nearby, " Jack whispered to her as she nodded.

Another guard walked over to them. His name tag read Officer Banner. He was in his 40's, lanky with a bald head. He looked at the other two women. "Paige and Warren . Thought I had seen the last of you two. You both know what to do. " He watched as they walked off to another block before turning his attention back to Liz. His eyes ran over her body before turning to Jack. "Who do we have here?

"Transfer from Oldbridge," he replied handing him the paperwork.

"I wasn't informed of this!" Banner said flicking through the file.

"Look, all I was told was that I had to bring the woman here. That's the paperwork from our end!" replied Jack indicating the clipboard.

"Lisa Cantwell, Sentenced for five years. You will find that this place is very different from Oldbridge. It's customary for all new arrivals to pay a visit to the Governor. Lets go, Cantwell," Banner said taking her by the arm.

"Lisa Cantwell, fraud, accessory to murder. You have quite a rap sheet dear!" The Governor said to her.

"Well you gotta do what you gotta do!" Liz replied.

"You are here to be rehabilitated, to understand the errors you have made in your life. One word of advice, Cantwell, keep your nose clean and you will find that your time here will pass all the more quickly. Take her to the showers. "

"Yes Ma'am" replied Banner leading Lz out of room

She followed him to the shower block. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she took in the state of the room. It looked like it needed a good clean down and then set on fire.

"You can't be serious! This is disgusting!

"Just get undressed and take your shower!" Banner replied making no effort to leave the room.

"Don't I get some privacy?" asked Liz.

"You are in Prison, Cantwell. You lost your privacy when you committed your crime. Take your shower!" Banner ordered. He leaned against the door and watched as she undressed with her back turned to him and turned on the shower.

/\\\\\

Once she was finished he brought her to her cell. "So do I get to share with anyone?"

"Laura Valdez," Banner replied.

"What's she like?" asked Liz looking around the small cell. There were two beds beside either wall with a door leading off to a small bathroom.

"She's a murderer. That is all you need to know!" replied the prison officer. "Supper is at 6.30." Liz turned sharply as she heard the door slam shut and lay down on the bed.

A few minutes later she heard the door open and she looked up. A petite dark haired woman in her late twenties came in. She glanced at Liz and rolled her eyes up to heaven.

"You must be Laura.I'm Lisa," Liz said holding out her hand.

Laura looked at the outstretched hand and ignored it. The sound of a loud bell sounding from somewhere inside the prison. Liz noticed the other women in the wing outside begin to move.

."It's chow time! " Laura said as she left the cell.

"I heard a woman named Kelly Wilton died here last week," Liz said to Laura as they stood in line at the counter in the canteen.

"Listen Lisa, Just because we share a cell doesn't mean that we have to talk to each other!" Laura replied walking off with her tray. Liz stared after her and then glanced around wondering where she would sit in order to get the information she needed.

"Hey Goldielocks! " Liz looked around to see who was calling her. She saw 3 women sitting together at one of the tables.

"Are you talking to me?" she asked them.

"Yeah, this is your first time in prison isn't it?" asked the woman with the cropped blonde hair.

"What makes you think that?" asked Liz.

"You can always tell the rookies in here!" smirked the woman. "I'm Margot. This is Jodie and Suzie. Come sit with us"

"Lisa Cantwell," she replied sitting down beside the women.

"So what are you in here for?" asked Suzie. She had flaming red hair with a nose ring.

"Fraud," replied Liz

"They don't put you in here for fraud!" scoffed Jodie.

"They do when its 3 million dollars off the Internet, " smirked Liz.

"Three million dollars!" exclaimed Margot.

"That and other things!"

"Like what?"

"Well my partner and I got the money but we were caught by the FBI. Jack killed one of the agents. He got sent down for 10 years!" replied Liz remembering her cover story.

"Wow! I killed my boyfriend and his girlfriend. Got 20 years!" Margot told Liz who looked at her in disbelief.

"So what's the deal with Laura Valdez?" asked Liz.

"Never mind her. She's like that. The only one who really got on with her was Kelly," replied Margot.

"Yeah I heard about what happened with Kelly," said Liz.

"It was a tragedy. Do you see the railings on the floor over there?" Margot said indicating the top floor of the wing. "She fell from there."

"Did she jump or was it murder?" asked Liz.

"Well some say it was suicide but Laura thinks she was murdered," said Margot.

"Why would she have been murdered?" asked Liz cautiously.

"That's Laura's theory. It ain't mine," Margot said.

"What's yours?" asked Liz.

"You ask a lot of questions," replied Suzie.

"I'm just curious," answered Liz.

"Well you know what they say "Curiosity killed the Cat," replied Suzie.

"Suzie, leave her alone. Listen we have a computer class here. Maybe you would like to put your name down. Get back that 3 million you lost."

"I think I'll give up that racket. But the class sounds interesting. Who goes to it?" asked Liz knowing that this could be her opportunity to find out who sent the emails to The Paranoid Times.

"Well there was originally 7. Us 3. Laura, Kelly, Nadine Jalinski and Kitty Harper. Nadine and Kitty were transferred a week ago and Kelly died. So now there is only 4."

"Well I think I could like to come to the class," said Liz.

"Well we just have to clear it with Banner," replied Margot.

The bell rang and people started to move out of the canteen. "We have an hour to relax before we go back to the cells," Margot told Liz.

"Why don't you come back to our cell. My man got me some high flying dope" Jodie said.

"They let you use drugs in here? "asked Liz.

"No. They don't let you, but they turn a blind eye to it" replied Jodie.

"I think I'll go back to my own cell and get a little rest. I am a little tired," replied Liz.

"Suit yourself!" replied Jodie.

Liz watched as the three women walked to their cell. She turned and went towards hers. She took the small bar of soap that she had taken from the shower room earlier and discreetly put it in the lock of the door.

"I don't like her. She asks too many questions," Suzie said to Margot and Jodie when they had lit up the joints.

"She 's alright" Margot said.

"I don't know. There's something about her. I can't put my finger on it, " Suzie mused

\\\\\/

Liz lay in bed waiting for Laura to go to sleep. As soon as she heard the regular breathing sounds coming from the other bed she quietly got up. She went into the bathroom and turned the light on. Glancing in Laura's direction she quietly opened the door. The prison guards where in their own section of the prison and only patrolled once an hour. She stood at the door watching the security camera. When she saw the red light turn off, she knew that Cade and Eddie were watching her.

They watched as she made her way down the hallway towards the Governor's office. Liz knelt down in front of the door and took a hairgrip from her hair. She put it in the lock and jiggled it around.

"Does she know how to do that?" asked Eddie as he watched her struggle to open the door.

"Should do. I showed her yesterday," replied Cade.

"Looks like she is having trouble," Eddie said.

"She'll do it," Cade said hopefully.

Liz finally got the door open and made her way over to the desk. She took the lamp and the telephone off the desk and hid behind it. She peeped over it as she pulled out the desk drawer. She rummaged in the drawer for the keys to the filing cabinet but couldn't find them. She sat back on her heels as she swore quietly to herself. Quickly glancing around she noticed a key cabinet on the other side of the room. Getting back on her feet she crossed the room to the cabinet. It was slightly ajar and she grabbed the filing cabinet key. Sitting back on the floor she picked up the telephone and dialled the trailer.

"Hey," Eddie answered.

"OK so what am I supposed to be looking for?" whispered Liz.

"Look for anything to do with Kelly," Eddie told her.

She quickly flipped through the files coming to the transfer section.

"Eddie there's a transfer file here. Nadine Jalinski and Kitty Harper were transferred to Barston Prison. Check that out. Also there is an order here for Kelly, she was supposed to be transferred the day she died. Eddie, I think there's a connection here. They were all part of a computer group."

"Good work Liz. I'll check that out. Foster will be there tomorrow so you won't be on your own."

"Is he there now?" asked Liz.

"Yeah he said good work on the lock picking. Liz you had better get back. The guard is getting ready to get back to work." Eddie said. She put everything back in its proper place and the two men watched as she made her way safely back to the cell.

\\\\\/

The following morning Cade made his way to the locker room. Eddie had created an identity for him and he was wearing a goatee and glasses. He was Mark Jackson who had been transferred from another prison 200 miles away.

He met Banner who had just entered and was changing into his uniform.

"Excuse me. I was told to report to..." Cade looked at a piece of paper in his hand. "Officer Banner.

"You must be Jackson?" Banner said. " Relief prison officer."

"That's right," replied Cade.

"I see you've never worked in a women's prison before. Just one word of advice. Don't fraternise with the women. You get that?"

"Yeah, I get that," answered Cade.

"The thing about these women is that they just don't know when to quit giving the screws a hard time!" Banner said as he pulled his jacket on.

"Is that what happened to that woman who died, Kelly Wilton?" asked Cade.

"Keep asking questions like that and you will find yourself getting disciplinary action," Banner said as he left the room.

\\\\\/

"Where did you go last night?" Laura whispered to Liz as they stood in the queue for breakfast.

"What do you mean?" asked Liz.

" I woke up and you weren't there."

"The bathroom. The food in here is terrible. I think I had a bad case of food poisoning," replied Liz.

"Oh right," Laura said walking over to an empty table .

Liz saw Margot and the other women. They nodded at her when she sat down beside them.

"Good news. I put your name down for the computer class. It starts at 7.30 tonight," Margot said to her.

"OK, Cantwell, Margot, Suzie, Esther, Laura and Frankie. You are all working in the garden today. Be ready at the bus in 30 minutes," Banner called out with a clipboard in hand.

"What is the garden?" asked Liz.

"The prison has a contract with the Winery about 25 miles away. They use us to dig the garden for the vineyards."

"So it is like cheap labour?" asked Liz.

"Exactly," the other woman replied.

Liz and the other women assembled at the gate ready to be transported to the Winery. Cade came out with Banner. Some of the women wolf whistled when they saw Cade.

"Jackson, cuffs on the women and then lock them in the van," Banner instructed.

"You are going to lock us in? Where do you think we are going to go? " Liz asked.

"Cantwell in case somebody hijacks the van and someone escapes. We don't want convicted murderers running around the place. Now do we?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Liz said sarcastically as Cade came over to her. She held her hands out as he snapped the hand cuffs on her. He led her to the van where he locked her to the seat. He gave her an apologetic look as he did.

"You can use handcuffs on me anytime," Suzie said to Cade when he brought her to the van. This was followed by some more wolf whistles by the other women.

"Suzie, keep your mouth shut!" Banner said .

"Ah Come on Banner. I know you are dying to have some action," she replied with a smirk.

"Suzie, remarks like that will have you thrown in Solitary!"

"I bet you would want to be there with me as well ," Suzie taunted winking at him.

Banner did not reply and did not say anymore till they got to the winery. Cade jumped down from the front seat and unlocked the women. Liz rubbed her wrists as he took the cuffs off her.

"Cantwell do you see the row over there. I want you to start digging it," instructed Banner.

Liz looked over to a long line of upturned soil at the far end of the field. "All of it?"

"Yes," replied Banner handing her the shovel.

She took it and walked slowly over to the row of soil. She placed the shovel into the ground and discovered that it was rock hard. When she tried again the shovel hit a load of rocks in the ground. She grunted as she lifted the rocks and threw them to one side. She looked over at the other women who seemed to be making more progress than her. Soon her arms were aching and she was perspiring from the heat. She blew a lock of hair out of her face as she stood up to lean on the shovel. Her back was killing her and she did a couple of stretches to ease her aching muscles.

Banner noticed that she had stopped and went over to her. "Get back to work. "

"It's 90 degrees out here. I need a drink! " she replied.

"Cantwell. Get back to work or you will be thrown into Solitary when we get back!"

"Can't we just have a break?" Liz asked.

Cade noticed what was going on and walked over to them. "What's going on? "

"Cantwell wants a break," sneered the other man.

"It's too warm to be working out here, " Liz said.

"She's right, it's too warm out here, give the women a break!" Cade said..

"Jackson, these women were brought here to work not for a vacation," replied Banner.

"What harm will a five minute break do. The women need a break. They all look like they are about to collapse in the heat. They are not animals who have been brought in for slaughter." Cade said.

Banner sighed. "OK, I was going to give them a break in half an hour. I guess they can take it now. 15 minute break everyone."

Liz nodded at Cade and walked over to the water barrel. She took a cup and drank from it.

Cade followed her over. "How are you holding out?"

"Fine. The computer class is on today. I may know who the believer is then," she replied.

"You have any haunches?" he asked.

"Well, there was originally 7 in the group. Kelly, Laura Valdez, Margot, Jodie, Suzie, Nadine and Kitty. Nadine and Kitty were transferred and Kelly either killed herself or was murdered. No one seems to want to talk about what happened to her. Our other believer is one or more of the other four. I'll get a better picture tonight at the class and I'll email Eddie with the details. Do you have any idea on who the alien could be?" Liz replied as she took the bandanna off her head to rinse it out in the water barrel so she could tie it around her neck.

"Well if I was a betting man I would say Banner," replied Cade glancing over at the other prison guard.

"That would be right. He's a sadistic son of a bitch," Liz said unhappily.

"Just try not to be so vocal with him!" warned Cade.

"Yeah right. What time are you off at?" asked Liz.

"Well 8 but we are short staffed tonight..."

"Let me guess you volunteered the grave yard shift!" laughed Liz.

Cade nodded and smiled. Banner looked over and saw the two talking.

"Jackson, I warned you about fraternising with the women. Back to work everyone!" he shouted.

\\\\\/

That evening Liz joined the other women in the computer room. She and Cade figured that the best way to find out who the believer was to sit and observe what went on during the group.

"Did you get a look at that new prison guard?" asked Suzie. "I wouldn't mind getting a bit of him". Liz looked up sharply at this remark. She noticed the positions the four other women were sitting at. She could see every body's computer except for Laura and Margot's.

"So what do you do here? " she asked.

"They basically let us do anything we want. Suzie and I have a date with these hot guys that we met on the Internet," replied Margot.

"An Internet date. Sounds interesting!" replied Liz.

"Yeah. They are from Nevada or so they say," Margot said logging onto the chat room.

"I think I will just play a computer game today" Jodie said who was sitting beside Liz.

"Hey, Cyberob wants to know what I am wearing!" giggled Suzie.

"Tell him you are wearing nothing, Girlfriend," laughed Margot.

Liz listened to the banter going back and forth between the women. She saw that Jodie was playing a space invaders game on the computer. Liz pretended that she was looking for a web site but she accessed the email facility and sent an email to Eddie.

"Eddie

_Do a BGC on Laura Valdez, Margot Walker, Suzie Lonfreid and Jodie Harrison. CF seems to think that Officer Geoffrey Banner is our Gua. Check this out as well._

_Liz."_

_\\\\\/_

Later that night Liz and Cade met at the side door to the compound. The Nostradamus Quatrain mentioned that an unused or hidden chamber that would reveal or gain insight to the truth. They couldn't figure this one out until Eddie discovered that a section of the prison had not been used for many years. Checking behind him he nodded to Liz and they quietly made their way across to the unused ivy covered building. Weeds grew through cracks in the pavement and they came to a big iron door. Cade examined the lock and found that it would be an easy one to pick. The door creaked loudly as he pushed it open. They found themselves in a dark hallway. Cade shone his torch around and noticed a door at the end of the hallway. An odious smell emanated from somewhere.

"God, it smells worse than Eddie's Trailer! " Liz said holding her mouth and her nose with her hand.

"It sure does, " replied Cade opening the next door and they found themselves in a small room. They glanced at each other when they took in the equipment in the room. A large silver table with straps and electrodes attached to the sides. An IV pole stood next to it as well as a computer monitor. A Gua upload machine was placed in the corner. Cade clicked the button on the computer monitor only to find a blank screen.

"Cade, the last two lines of the quatrain "An unused chamber holds the key to gaining an insight to the truth". This could be where the Gua are planning to bring the resistance in the Aftertime!" Liz exclaimed as she lifted up the straps on the silver table and then dropped them.

"The Gua plan to torture them in order to get them to reveal what they know," replied Cade pointing his flashlight around the room. Liz noticed a small cupboard off to one side. She pulled the door open and jumped back with a small scream when she saw what was inside.

Cade ran over and nearly vomited at the sight of two bodies hanging together. He slammed the door shut. Liz recognised them from the transfer files as Nadine and Kitty. The two women that had been part of the computer group, supposedly transferred to another prison. Now they were here murdered. Kelly had been part of the group as well and she was murdered. It was clear what was going on. The women found out the Gua were in the prison and paid for it with their lives. The quatrain said there were four believers. Now they had to find out who the other believer was before it was too late.

"Let's get out of here, " Cade said.

\ \\\/

At breakfast the following morning Laura sat by herself at a corner table in the canteen. She stared despondently in to her cup of coffee.. Frankie Welleski came over and sat beside her. "Do you mind? I would like to sit by myself," Laura said not looking at the other woman.

Frankie tutted as she glared at her and leaned into her and whispered, "You really should get down off your high horse, Laura and act like the rest of us. "

"Get out of my face," Laura said pushing her away.

"You better watch it Laura! "

"I said get out of my face!" Laura shouted pushing her again. Frankie pushed her back as Laura pulled her hair. The two ended up struggling on the floor.

Soon the whole place was in uproar as the prison guards tried to pull the two women apart. Liz stared in disbelief at the scene but she felt someone pull her down behind the counter. She saw that it was Jodie. "Don't get involved in this. There could be serious repercussions if you do!" she warned.

"What do you mean?" asked Liz wondering if she meant not to get involved in the riot or the investigation. She wondered if Jodie was the other believer.

The guards dragged Laura off Frankie. "Take her to solitary!" ordered Banner.

"She's a lunatic!" exclaimed Frankie wiping blood off a cut near her mouth.

/ \\\\\

"Eddie, we found the unused chamber in the Quatrain, we also found the remains of the two women who were supposed to be transferred." Cade said to Eddie as he sat down in the trailer explaining what they figured out.

"Foster, did you find out who the other believer was?" asked Eddie.

"No!" replied Cade rubbing his eyes.

"Well get this, two minutes after Liz sent me that email I got another one from inside the prison. It was a different address this time. The person who sent me the email must be one of the women that were in the room at that time," Eddie said showing Cade the email.

"I'll talk to Liz when I get back and see what she says," Cade said.

\ \\\/

The women were out in the exercise yard playing a game of softball when Cade arrived back in the prison. He glanced around and saw Liz sitting on a bench watching the game.

"Eddie got an email from here the same time you sent yours," he said when he walked over to her.

Liz opened her mouth in surprise. "It's Laura!"

"Are you sure?" asked Cade.

"Yes, I couldn't see what she and Margot were doing on their computers but Margot and Suzie were in a chat room talking to some guys. Jodie was playing a computer game. I saw her the whole time. It's gotta be Laura! "

"We'll have to talk to her," Cade said.

"Cade, she is in Solitary Confinement. She had a fight with one of the other women this morning. She was sent to solitary!"

"I'll have to get the keys from Banner somehow," Cade replied as Liz looked a little thoughtful.

"No, I got a better idea" she said walking off toward the softball game. Cade watched in disbelief as she picked up the ball and refused to give it back. The other woman hit out at Liz who pushed back and they both fell to the ground. The other women stood around shouting encouragement. Cade and Banner ran over and pulled the two women off each other.

"Cantwell, you just earned some time in solitary," Banner said.

"I'll take her," Cade said as the prison guard handed him the keys. He took Liz by the arm and brought her towards the block. He was furious but waited till they were out of sight before saying anything.

"What the hell did you think you were playing at?" he finally said facing her.

"It was the only way we had to get to her!" Liz replied.

"It was a stupid and reckless thing to do Liz, you could have picked on the wrong person. You wouldn't be standing here if you had"

"There was nothing else to do."

They got to the Solitary Confinement wing and looked in all the rooms until they found Laura in the last one. She looked up in surprise when she heard the door open wnd saw them standing in the doorway. "What are you doing?"

"We're from The Paranoid Times. You've been sending emails to us about alien activity going on here." Cade said.

"I don't know what you are talking about!" Laura said.

"Laura, we're here to help you. We know it was you who sent the email last night," Cade said. "You can either tell us what has been going on or you end up like the others. Dead"

She bit her lip as she considered what to say. "It was Kelly who found out what was going on. She discovered that the aliens were in the prison."

"What are they doing here?" asked Cade.

"Kelly found the secret room and saw them torturing one of the prison guards. He dissolved when he died. Kelly told us about it but we didn't believe her. She showed us the journals on the Internet. We tried to stop them but we couldn't. The aliens infiltrated the prison so they could have a place to bring the members of the resistance in the Aftertime. The Winery was also part of the plan. They planned to have the van hijacked and let some of the alien inmates escape -"

"Some of the inmates are aliens! Who?" asked Cade.

"Jodie," said Liz. "I thought she was a believer."

"That's right," a voice said. The three turned to see Banner and Jodie standing at the door. They each had a gun in their hands.

"We know who you are, we knew ever since you arrived here," Banner said to Cade.

"We were planning to bring you here anyway once you were captured and torture you in order to get the location of the Book. You saved us the problem of trying to capture you, " Jodie continued.

"Well now I am here," Cade said hoping to buy some time.

"Move," Jodie said pointing the gun at Cade's back.

They began to walk in front of the two aliens. Cade turned around all of a sudden hitting Banner in the face with an elbow. Banner dropped the gun in surprise but recovered and grabbed Cade by the throat. He began to choke as his windpipe became more constricted. Banner he fell to the ground when Laura slammed a large piece of wood into his head. Cadet dived for the gun and pulled the trigger as Banner tried to get badk on his feet. He watched as the alien dissolved. Liz jumped on Jodie and they fell to the floor. She struggled with Jodie to get the gun off her. A shot rang out and Liz rolled off Jodie as she dissolved into a puddle.

\\\\\/

_Laura Valdez was granted parole. She had been incarcerated for 8 years for manslaughter. Self defense as she tried to protect herself from an abusive boyfriend. She had been rehabilitated in prison. She was the sole survivor of the four believers. She promised she would spread the word about the alien invasion._

"Well don't you two know how to show a girl a good time," Liz said coming out of the trailer with a beer.

"Oh come on Lizzie it's a beautiful day, the sun is shining..." Cade started to say.

"Yeah and you two promised me dinner!" replied Liz.

"This is dinner Eliza Jane!" Eddie laughed handing her a carton of Chinese food .

The sound of a car horn made them look up to see Laura behind the wheel.

"Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" she asked as she got out the car.

"Here have a beer," Cade said handing her a bottle.

"I just wanted to say thanks for everything," Laura said taking a swig from her beer.

"We have to do it," Cade said.

"I read your article, it was very good. I just don't understand why you never mentioned the aliens," Laura said to Liz.

"Well we figured most newspaper editors refuse to lower their standards to the level of those supermarket tabloids so I do it in a way that will direct the readers to The Paranoid Times and Cade's Journals," Liz explained.

"Oh. Is it ok if I make a toast?" Laura asked.

"Sure!" replied Cade.

"I would like to toast - "Victory"!" Laura said raising her bottle of beer.

Cade, Eddie and Liz looked at each other and then raised their bottles as well.

"To Victory!"

_To Victory indeed. This investigation may have ended in victory this time. But I wonder what the future investigations will hold for us. I may be gathering more believers as I travel my journey and there will be a time when I have to face the greatest battle of all. Will I be victorious then?_

.


End file.
